Rise of the Star Guardians
by Gazooki
Summary: When dark forces threaten to destroy Runeterra, only the Star Guardians have the power to stop them. However, the arrival of a new recruit is causing disharmony in their ranks. Will Jinx be able to fit in and let her powers flourish?
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Rise of a Star Guardian**

At the beginning of the universe, the First Star's light was the only thing that shone, a bright beacon in an endless dark sky. From its radiance came the other stars, expanding until the universe we know today had formed. Things were peaceful for many millennia until a dark portal, the entrance to a warped and evil realm known as the Void, opened up, letting through all manner of foul creatures. The First Star, knowing of the threat the Void represented to its creations, sought to protect all that it had made lest the peacefulness of the stars be ruined by the voracious beasts that crossed over.

Thus, the Star Guardians were born. These guardians were granted the First Star's power to carry out their duties and keep their worlds from harm. For thousands of years, these powers have been passed down from generation to generation, ensuring peace is kept in the universe at all times. Those who become Star Guardians live a double life, keeping their mission secret from all others and pledging their lives to the cause. Star Guardians are often altruistic, pure of heart, loyal and courageous, never faltering or failing. However when the universe is in grave danger, when the oncoming storm looks to be more powerful than ever before, the First Star may look to awaken a more, shall we say, unconventional type of hero…

* * *

It had now been weeks since Jinx had left behind the ruined city of Piltover. Her beloved Fishbones was gone, and with nowhere she could restock her arsenal, Pow-Pow the Minigun was nothing but dead weight. Her life was at an impasse. While on the road she had started to remember things that had been long buried in her subconscious mind, memories of another city, of faces she hadn't seen in years. Something told her that this place was Zaun, the second technological powerhouse of Runeterra, and so with only a handful of memories to cling to, she was about to enter Piltover's bitter rival.

The moment Jinx entered the city, her heart sank. This didn't look anything like she'd thought it would. She didn't feel the sort of excitement she thought she'd feel from returning to her hometown. Everything about Zaun was ugly. The streets were all grey and muddy, permeated by ectoplasmic goo from the numerous experiments of the mad scientists that Zaun was best known for. Noxious green smog belched from the chimneys of factories and hung over the city, making it difficult to breathe. Frail, sickly-looking peasants were being frog-marched in and out of black, towering buildings by ghastly mutated custodians. Those who hadn't been rounded up were either begging for food with empty bowls in their laps or being set upon by vicious thugs. How could anyone live here?

Jinx wished she had some explosives with her. These factories were awful. This was one place that could really do with a little livening up. She wouldn't feel guilty about blowing these buildings up or shooting everyone because this place was a complete dump. Guilt was a very recent, and scary, emotion for Jinx, and every time it reared its ugly head she tried to suppress it, but without Fishbones to separate that part of her psyche from herself, she could not escape it. All the lives she'd ruined, all the people she'd hurt, they tormented her every waking hour. All she wanted was to be able to feel free again like she had before, to run and leap and play like a new-born lamb, but her own brain wouldn't let her. _Why can't I just go back to how I was,_ she thought. _Things were so much easier when Fishbones was around._

"Hey, you!" a gruff voice yelled from behind Jinx. She spun on her heels, surprised by this exclamation, and came face to face with a gang of thugs. There were four of them, all of them bulky and ugly in their own ways. One of them had half his fingers missing and pustules all over his face. Another wore an eyepatch that presumably hid a missing eye, but did little to mask the scar his face bore. The third was even more hideous, hunchbacked and slavering like a dog. The fourth, however, was an altogether different beast, a purple-skinned monstrosity with torn clothes and an assortment of large syringes embedded in his back. In his hand, he held a rusted, bloody meat cleaver, which was being pointed directly at Jinx.

"Oh, look, the freakshow's in town," Jinx quipped, but there was no laughter. Only growls of anger and that nasty cleaver waving about dangerously close to her face. "What the hell do you guys want? I don't have any money or anything worth your time, so buzz off!" Anger was another one of those emotions Jinx had grown to intensely dislike over the past couple of weeks. It made all her muscles tense up and her elbows feel all stiff and awkward, like she was turning into a scarecrow. Most of the time, her anger was self-directed, getting mad at herself for making the stupid decision to leave Piltover in some misguided attempt at atoning for her past sins, or for allowing her own recklessness to reach the point where making that decision had seemed necessary. Now, though, she was angry at these punks for being complete wastes of space, for being big bullies who wanted to steal her things and hurt her. Why did everyone always have to pick on _her_?

"Mundo doesn't care about that!" the purple hulk replied brusquely. "Mundo just wants to cleave skinny girl in half!"

"Not before we get a piece of her, you don't," the one-eyed thug said.

"Pretty little thing like you shouldn't be out on the streets by yourself," said the half-handed one. "Heheheh…" He reached out his intact left hand to grab one of Jinx's pigtails, but in a lightning-quick reflex she pulled out her remaining working weapon, the trusty Zapper, and fired an electrified round into his chest, knocking him flat on his back.

"Get her!" the hunchback commanded, grasping with both hands as Jinx turned to run away.

"MUNDO!" shouted Mundo as he and the other thugs pursued her down the bustling streets. Jinx's boots were worn from all the running she'd been doing these past few weeks, and unlike back in Piltover, she hadn't had a chance to change them. Nobody in Zaun would accept money from anyone they even suspected of being a Piltie, so there was no way she could even attempt to buy new ones at this time. They wouldn't hold out much longer, and neither would she. The adrenaline rush that usually came with mowing somebody down just wasn't there. She'd done what she had to do, and now another of those uncomfortable emotions was racing through her mind. Fear.

In her prime as the terror of Piltover, Jinx never felt fear. She was untouchable. For years she'd been evading justice, destroying whatever she pleased and laughing all the while. She always managed to stay one step ahead of law enforcement, waving through the narrowest of alleyways with ease and blasting her way through any walls that got in her way, leaving whichever hapless officer was on duty to traverse the rubble if they wanted to catch her. By the time they'd managed to clamber through the wreckage, she would be long gone and well on her way to her next destination, ready to blast off again. Destruction and carnage ran through her blood, empowering her, and now that this vital element was missing, she felt weakened, crippled by self-doubt. She could tell she wasn't running at her usual pace anymore, and that scared her even more.

From behind her, Jinx heard a whoosh as an object flew through the air, followed by a sharp pain as Mundo's infected cleaver dug into her back, right between the shoulder blades. She screamed in agony as she fell to the floor in a heap, collapsing onto the sticky cobbled pavement. Nobody came to her aid, even though she could see onlookers gawping at the spectacle unfolding before them. All of them were complicit in Zaun's crimes, unwilling to put themselves at risk to offer aid as the purple monster planted his foot on the small of her back and yanked his cleaver out.

"Someone, help me!" Jinx screamed, frustrated and saddened that these people were content to leave her to her fate. She remembered the boy who shattered time, the one with the Mohawk and the hourglass painted on his face, and the fact that he had lived here in Zaun. They had known each other once, before she started talking to guns and before she broke his heart by leaving for Piltover. Why couldn't he come and save her? Had he forgotten her, as she had once forgotten him?

"Mundo does as he pleases!" Mundo declared as he removed his foot from her back. Jinx tried to crawl away, but the other two thugs quickly blocked her path. Whichever way she turned, they followed, circling her until she could no longer hold herself up and collapsed onto the sidewalk.

"Sorry, girlie, but you're comin' with us!" the hunchback said, painfully yanking one of her pigtails. The one-eyed man proceeded to grab the other pigtail and together they began to drag her away from the scene of the crime, their victim crying and flailing as she tried to escape their vice-like grip on her hair. The pain was unbearable, from the open wound on her back that left a trail of blood along the road, the scraping of bare and hardly-concealed skin along the floor and the harsh tugging on the back of her head that brought her ever closer to doom.

Time seemed to drag on for an eternity. Jinx thought perhaps this would never end, that she would spend forever trapped in this moment. These three thugs, with the fourth set to arrive soon, were taking her to a dark place where they were going to do unspeakable things to her. This wasn't what she wanted. This was a worse punishment than anything that the Sheriff of Piltover would ever be able to devise. Now she realised why she'd never been scared of the police. It wasn't because they couldn't catch her. It was because even if they _did_ catch her, she'd only be put behind bars, not subjected to the sort of torture these barbarians were planning. It wasn't the law she needed to be scared of. It was the people _avoiding_ the law.

The dragging eventually stopped in front of a frightening abomination of a building covered in ivy. What little of its foundations that could be seen were a dull grey in colour, and the door was as red as the blood that covered Jinx's back. Everything hurt. So much skin had been scraped off from all over, Jinx thought it might be gone forever. While the tugging of her hair had stopped, the grimy, sweaty hands of the thugs still held her pigtails tightly in their grasp. Mundo produced a set of keys, staring at it with his small, piggish eyes to discern which one would fit the lock. While he fumbled with the lock to allow his crew entrance to the foreboding chamber, the others talked.

"Never had one this skinny before," said the hunchback. "Hope she can handle it!"

"You better not break her before my go," the half-blind man replied. "And as for Eld…"

"He likes 'em nice and still," the hunchback said. "Then again, I would too if a bitch ripped half my fingers off!" The two of them laughed like asthmatic hyenas as they recalled one of their previous victims. Jinx felt horror creeping across her whole body, knotting her guts as her powerlessness became even more apparent. She was going to die, but only after being abused and humiliated by these scumbags. Nobody would hear her screams and cries for help here. The walled were padded and soundproofed specifically to prevent that. The tugging started again, this time along a foul greasy linoleum floor that even in the poor lighting of the room Jinx could tell was covered in all manner of stains and bodily fluids. Mundo closed the door behind them, shutting out the light from the outside world, and on his command the other two thugs hoisted her up onto a slab.

"Strap her down," Mundo said, and very quickly the other two degenerates ensnared Jinx with tight leather straps across her wrists, ankles and torso. All the strength had left her body after the cleaver hit her, so she was unable to fight against her bonds.

"Mundo need surgical equipment!" the purple one barked. "Can't experiment without apparatus!"

"Ah, come on, Mundo, can't you do that after?" the one-eyed man asked, clearly aggrieved.

"What does it matter to you anyway? You can't even see her properly!" the hunchback retorted.

"You know what he does to 'em," said the man with one eye.

"Mundo expects orders to be followed!" bellowed Mundo. "Mundo get to work on her first, _then_ others have fun with her!" Jinx didn't think what was in store was going to be any fun at all. If she wasn't having fun, it was bad. Very bad. The fire that burned within her earlier had gone out, the rage and fury poured away and replaced with complete and utter despair as it became ever more apparent that she was going to meet with a terrible fate. She wasn't ready to die. Not like this…

 _You have nothing to fear, child._

A calming voice spoke with utmost clarity. Jinx looked around to discern the location of this mysterious speaker, but there was nobody else. Where was it coming from?

"Who said that?" Jinx asked, afraid that she was going to lose what little grip on reality she had before she died.

"Nobody said anything," said the hunchback. "Now be a good girl and shut up."

 _Only you can hear me, child. I am the First Star, and you are destined for great things…_

"Okay, Mundo ready to make first incision!" Mundo declared, pulling on a pair of green rubber gloves. The gloves were far too small and tore as he tried to wrap them around his hands, but he did not let this discourage him as he brandished his cleaver, bringing it ever closer to Jinx's delicate skin.

"No," she said. "It's not time for me to die yet."

 _Let the light of the First Star flow through you and awaken your powers. Become the Star Guardian you were born to be!_

Time seemed to stop. Everything froze as Jinx became enveloped in a brilliant white light that seared through her bonds, allowing her to break free as the power of the stars took hold. Jinx felt the strength return to her body, allowing her to stand once more as her captors shielded their eyes from the harsh light. The invigorating illuminations began to change her physically, giving her a much healthier complexion than the deathly white she used to be, changing her outfit from an assortment of belts and not much else into a similarly small sailor school uniform and fashioning her blue braids into a more traditional red twin-tail style.

"I don't know what's going on, but this is _awesome!_ " Jinx declared. "All I need now are some sweet firearms and we're good to go!" Almost as though the deities were listening, the moment she uttered these words, two small cat-like creatures, one black and one white, appeared in front of her and transformed themselves into a golden, winged minigun and a black and gold rocket launcher that looked like it was forged from stardust. With child-like glee, Jinx took them both, attempting to sling them across her shoulders so they rested the same way as her old weapons had, but upon doing so realised that only one of them was willing to stay in its weaponised form at a time. Jinx soon gave up trying to get the two to cooperate and settled for the machine gun, pointing it in the direction of the man with the scarred face.

"What in Mundo's name just happened?" Mundo asked, dropping his cleaver.

"You guys just got _toasted_!" Jinx replied, riddling the one-eyed creep with glittery bullets. Jinx was already in love with her new weapon, especially the way each bullet sparkled when it hit its mark. This was so cool. She didn't know why this had happened, and frankly she didn't care because the only thing that mattered was that she had some cool new guns. The hunchback tried to run for the door, but before he'd made it two feet, Jinx had already blown his hump wide open with a star-infused rocket. She reached to her holster where she traditionally kept her stun gun to find a shiny new one waiting to be used. Mundo was a perfect target dummy as his sheer bulk made it almost impossible to miss him at such close range. The volley hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to collapse to the ground on top of his rusty cleaver.

"See ya, losers!" Jinx said, blasting a hole in the wall with her new rocket launcher and running out into the street, leaving people bewildered. At this point, she realised that she herself was unclear on what exactly was going on and what these strange creatures that were flying around her head were.

"Okay, this is cool and all, but what exactly _are_ you guys?" Jinx asked. The black creature purred and chirped in an attempt to communicate. "Voice in my head, fill me in!"

 _Shiro and Kuro are fairies crafted from stardust to help you on your journey. Treat them well and in time you will come to understand them._

"Right, gotcha," Jinx said. "Couldn't you have picked better names, though?" She wished the First Star had come up with something cooler than the Ionian words for black and white. Pow-Pow and Fishbones were _way_ better names. But, she supposed, these two would never need reloading since they seemed to be purely magical, so she could live with it. For now.

 _Listen to me, and listen well. You are now a member of the Star Guardians, entrusted from this day forward with the safety of the universe…_

"But I just wanna blow stuff up," Jinx said. None of the pedestrians staring at her quite knew how to react to a girl talking to herself while two magical cat-fairies flew around her head. Some of them quickly looked away and resumed walking, while others continued begging for alms.

 _Your powers are greater than you know. They must be used for the right purposes. Seek out the other Star Guardians, for dark forces are growing in this world, and you are the only ones who can stop them…_

"Uuuugh, I didn't sign up for this," Jinx groaned. "There just had to be a catch, didn't there? Nobody's gonna just hand me weapons for free, nooooooooooo, I've gotta use them for _saving the freakin' universe!_ Bummer!"

 _Do not draw attention to yourself, lest your mission be compromised. The best course of action would be to rendezvous with your fellow Star Guardians. Go to the Yordle Academy and seek them out. With all your powers combined, the world shall know true peace at last…_

The Yordle Academy. She knew that place. She knew it all too well, in fact, because it was situated right in the heart of Piltover. Great, just great. The one place she'd sworn never to return to. But, she reasoned, she was no longer the same person, and she didn't look anything like the posters anymore, so perhaps she'd be able to go back and fit right in after all. Maybe she could rub it in Hat Lady and Fat Hands' face that she had cool powers now and they didn't. They'd never be able to catch her now. But how to get back there? Walking all the way back was gonna be a huge pain in the butt. Perhaps…

"Hey, you two, I've got an idea," Jinx said, grabbing the two little fluffballs and smashing them together to create a gigantic star-spangled rocket. Climbing aboard and pointing herself towards Piltover, she gave the order. "Fly me to Piltover! I've got unfinished business to attend to!" On her command, the rocket blasted off into the sky, leaving a rainbow trail behind and raining sparkles down on the city of Zaun.


	2. Episode 1: A Bumpy Landing

**Chapter 1: A Bumpy Landing**

"I must thank you once again, Professor Heimerdinger, for allowing us to stay here," Janna said as she toured the main courtyard alongside her fellow Star Guardians. The purple-haired leader of the sacred order had been so worried when she made the initial request to use the Yordle Academy as their base, but thankfully the headmaster had been quick to accept, even taking time out of his hectic schedule to show them around the campus. Nobody would know these halls better than the founder, after all.

"Don't mention it," said Heimerdinger, scratching behind one of his fuzzy ears. "I could never refuse anything that's in the interest of saving the world, especially when other yordles are involved."

"Yeeeeeah! I can't wait to make all sorts of new friends!" Lulu, one of the aforementioned yordles, whooped, frolicking and twirling alongside her fairy companion Pix as her long green hair wafted out behind her. "You think they'll like me here?"

"I'd rather focus on the task at hand," Poppy said, scowling. Even before joining the Star Guardians, the blue-haired yordle girl had been known for her steadfastness, hence her position slightly ahead of the group which allowed her to scout for trouble to smite with her mighty hammer. Janna trusted her wholeheartedly and was glad to be accompanied by someone who shared her passion for justice, even if sometimes Poppy did appear aloof as a result. She provided a rather nice contrast to Lulu's happy-go-lucky nature.

"Worry not, children, for the Yordle Academy accepts all," Heimerdinger said. "Progress is so much swifter in a harmonious environment, wouldn't you agree?"

"No doubt about it," said Lux, the pink-haired second-in-command of the Star Guardians. "That's what makes us Star Guardians so special! We share a bond stronger than Demacian steel!" She twirled her star-topped rod around, creating little specks of stardust.

"Well, um, actually, the common 'knowledge' about Demacian steel is misinformation, originating from a rather flawed study conducted by Professor Stanwick Pididdly of Zaun," Heimerdinger pointed out. While it may not have been the wisest choice to correct this error in the company of a Zaunite and two Demacians, it was his duty to educate and enlighten others.

"A most fascinating fact," Janna said, clapping her hands together, hoping that the rest of the group would follow her lead and not object to what could be seen as a slight against such a righteous nation. "You really are most intelligent, sir. We are blessed to be in such company."

"Blessed are the cheesemakers!" Lulu yelled. The others, by this point, had accepted Lulu's little eccentricities as simply a part of her character. After all, who wouldn't be a little strange after spending centuries in an enchanted glade with only fairies for company?

"Blessed they are indeed," Heimerdinger said, somewhat surprised but nonetheless pleased. "Without them, we wouldn't have my latest invention, the Cheezoid 9000! It's the first ever robot to be one-hundred percent fuelled by gorgonzola! It also just so happens to further corroborate my hypothesis that bio-fusion engineering is the future of technology. Imagine a world without fossil fuels! Of course, I still haven't quite worked out how to get rid of the smell yet…" Suddenly, a large explosion shook the ground beneath them. The professor fell flat on his back, dropping his spanner, while the Star Guardians planted their feet squarely and kept close to Poppy, who was able to infuse her shield with the First Star's power and create a barrier that absorbed the shock.

"What was that?" Lux asked worriedly. "Is the school under attack?"

"That would be awfully inconvenient timing on our part if it was," replied Janna.

"Oof… I've told Ziggs countless times about those hexplosives of his!" Heimerdinger shrilled, picking himself up off the ground and dusting off his lab coat. "How many times must I reiterate this? _No explosions on school premises!_ "

"Come, fellow warriors of justice, we must fight!" Poppy declared, holding her star-adorned hammer aloft with ease. "For the First Star!" Holding her shield in front of her defensively, she began to charge forwards in the direction of the explosion, leaving everyone else in the dust.

"Wait, Poppy!" Janna cried out, but it was too late to stop her once the determination had set in. "Please forgive us, Professor, but we must follow her. There's no knowing what may happen otherwise."

"Very well," said Heimerdinger, adjusting his glasses. "Just try not to break anything. Our equipment is very expensive!" It was a simple enough task for the trailing Star Guardians to catch up, as Lulu rode her staff life a broomstick, whilst Janna employed the power of the wind to carry her and Lux, who had no flight powers of her own, high above the campus in a concentrated tornado. From her lofty position, Janna was easily able to ascertain the precise location of the explosion. The rather large crater in place of what had previously been a show-stopping centrepiece was a bit of a giveaway to say the least. As she got closer, she could see a figure lying prostrate at the point of impact. This would not do. Someone was hurt and in need of her help. The winds around Janna dissipated as she lowered herself and Lux to the ground, shortly followed by Lulu.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, her expression and voice sounding anything but apologetic. "I was just distracted by these cute flowers." She held out a hand for the others to see, balancing an orange tulip delicately on her palm.

"Lulu, shouldn't you know better than to pick flowers?" Janna asked assertively.

"It's okay," Lulu said, "I can just use my powers to fix them. Watch." She found a patch of undisturbed soil nearby, dug a small hole and placed the tulip in it before waving her staff over it, sprinkling it with magic dust. The flower stood tall, its colours becoming more radiant than ever. Janna could have sworn the tulip was glowing; such was its distinctive beauty

"There we go," Lulu said, standing back to admire her handiwork. "Now it'll be the tallest, prettiest flower of them all!"

"Halt! Who goes there?" Poppy arrived bombastically on the scene, spinning her hammer above her head in preparation to bring it down on an evildoer's skull. "Show yourself, coward!"

"Calm yourself, Poppy," Janna said soothingly. "Somebody's fallen from the sky and needs our help." Now the four of them had reunited, the Star Guardians began to congregate around the fallen one. Once they were within a couple of feet of the crater, Janna gasped at what she saw. It was obvious that this was no ordinary accident. A girl with crimson hair in a longer variant of Lux's twin-tails and a strikingly similar uniform to their own lay on the ground, not moving. Two small creatures hovered at either side of her head tugging at her, trying to rouse her. Janna placed her staff between them, shooing them away so she could crouch down and get a better look at this girl. She was as radiant and beautiful as the Star Guardians, but with a strange hint of devilishness to her.

"Is she dead?" Lux asked. "She looks dead to me." Janna did not answer immediately, first running her fingers down the fallen girl's neck to find her pulse. To her relief, it was still beating away, a good sign that the latest Star Guardian had survived the trip. The First Star was not usually one for grand entrances, but even with her vast experience, Janna could never hope to understand its true nature.

"Come forth, Zephyr, lend me your light," Janna uttered, splaying out the fingers of her left hand and materialising a white dove-like sprite. The magical being hovered over the girl and surrounded her in a shimmering white shield of light and vitality. Janna stood back as the girl awoke and coughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Yuck, tastes like dirt," the girl said, sitting up and staring dead-eyed at the watching Star Guardians.

"She's safe!" Lux said, throwing her hands up in the air with joy.

"What… where the heck am I? And who are you?" the girl asked, rubbing her head.

"Who are we?" Janna parroted. "Let's show her, girls!"

"Alright!" Lux hollered, excited to put on a display for the newcomer. "I am Luxanna Crownguard, former soldier of the Demacian army, Star Guardian and servant of the First Star!" She held her staff aloft, emitting an arcing double rainbow that touched the sky.

"I am Janna, the Turbulent Wind of the Star Guardians," Janna said, her purple hair fluttering as she whipped up a breeze to demonstrate her powers. "We are honoured to have you serve at our side."

"Lulu's the name, and magic's my game!" Lulu said as her fairy companion fluttered around her head, distracting her. "And uh… let's have lotsa fun! Yeah!" Poppy, however, stood with her arms folded and her hammer planted on the ground.

"What, you're expecting me to put on a show and dance?" she asked dismissively. "That's not my style. Just call me Poppy. And don't get in my way." The dazed girl in front of them brought herself to her feet, having taken in the wondrous display of the First Star's power in all its magnificent glory. The troupe held their poses, awaiting some form of acknowledgement from their newest member.

"Really? _This_ is who I'm supposed to hang out with from now on? Holy crap, you guys are _so_ lame!" That was far from the sort of acknowledgement they were looking for.

"You! How _dare_ you!" Lux shouted, stepping forward angrily to confront the newcomer. "You know nothing of the importance of our order!"

"Lux, no!" Janna urged, pushing the pink guardian back with a gale-force blast. "I'm sorry for the trouble. Our younger members can be somewhat impetuous. Please, take no notice. Young one, what shall we call you?"

"Me? Uh… Jinx, I guess." An odd name, Janna thought, and one that seemed somehow familiar, but she wasn't about to question it.

"A pleasure to meet you, Jinx." Janna offered a hand of peace to the rebellious upstart, who saw fit to leave her hanging.

"Yeah, sure, Grandma," Jinx replied. "Just show me what needs shooting." She reached back over her shoulder to grab her spirit animal Kuro, shaking him until he became a bazooka. "I'm all about taking names and blasting stuff!"

"Do try to keep civilian casualties to a minimum," Janna said. "Our powers are meant to be used for good, although I'm sure you know that already."

"Blah, blah, blah," said Jinx, forming her hand into a mouth and mocking the eldest Star Guardian for her constant exposition. "Let's get one thing straight. I do my own thing, OK? I don't really care what happens to this world, and I'm not into all this airy-fairy fluffy and light crap."

"Is the First Star really _this_ desperate?" Poppy groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I think it's rather refreshing," Lulu commented. "Don't you agree, Pix?" The pixie fluttered its wings, speaking to its friend in an ancient fairy language only she could understand. "Guess I'm alone in thinking that. Just like always…"

"How could you refuse the First Star's calling?" Janna asked. "I have served the First Star for years, and it has brought me great joy and satisfaction. Don't you want that?"

"Not really," Jinx answered, shrugging her shoulders and startling Kuro back into his original form. "I didn't _ask_ for this to happen. It just _did._ "

"If you're not going to serve the First Star faithfully, then you should give up your powers and return to the life you led before," said Lux. "Doubt only leads to weakness!"

"Yeah, we can't afford to have you dragging us down by not being a team player," Poppy concurred. "Go home, if that's what you want. It doesn't bother me." Jinx paused, becoming very still and quiet for once. Poppy merely stood and watched with a smug sense of satisfaction, having sensed she had won this particular battle. _First blood_ , she thought.

"I… I don't have a home," Jinx admitted, her posture slumping. Shiro appeared to be whispering words of encouragement in her ear, but at this moment, Jinx still did not understand the fairy. "I'm a wanted girl, on the run from the cops right here in this city, and the only other place I know is full of horrible people, way worse than you guys. I just wanna be free. That's all I want."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Janna said, approaching Jinx and placing a cold but comforting hand on her shoulder. "I know how it feels to be alone. I was an orphan who grew up in a poor area, but thanks to the First Star, I've been able to help so many people and make the world around me a better place. I won't allow you to suffer any longer. Stay with us. Please." Jinx looked at Janna, whose eyes brimmed with hope. Could she possibly say no at this point?

"Janna, are you serious?" Lux gasped. "She's a total maverick! Her power is to summon destructive weapons!"

"If I was gonna kill you guys, I would've done it by now," Jinx said impatiently. "Is that progress? I don't even know." Janna's enhanced sense of empathy told her that the red-head had suffered gravely and was still reluctant to embrace the good that rested in her heart. The First Star definitely had its work cut out with this one.

"I got given a hammer," Poppy said. "That's far more dangerous than anything this pretender's shown us so far."

"Can you... grant me freedom?" Jinx asked of Janna. "Could you like, tell the cops to back off and just let me do my thing? I mean, if it's in the name of justice, they can't possibly complain about me blowing stuff up anymore, right?"

"That's something I would be happy to arrange to secure your services," Janna said. "I welcome you with open arms. As for the others…"

"Leave me outta this," Poppy said, pouting. "It's not my decision to make. It's the First Star's."

"If she's ready to truly embrace the ways of the Star Guardian, I have no objections," said Lux.

"How about you, green midget?" Jinx asked. "You want me in this little group of yours or what?" Alas, Lulu was unable to answer, as a pair of thorny vines had snaked their way over from the tulip bed and ensnared the yordle and her pixie, beginning to drag them away from the group as they struggled to free themselves.

"Heeeeelp!" Lulu screamed. Her magical staff had been dropped in shock when she first felt the vine wrap around her waist, leaving her unable to do anything.

"We're coming!" Janna shouted, leading the charge. Unfortunately, it appeared that Lulu's spell had gone even more catastrophically wrong than she could ever have anticipated. Instead of a lustrous bed of tulips, there remained merely one humongous plant with jagged orange petals, almost creating the illusion of flames.

"Those weren't tulips!" Lux exclaimed. "They were Wildfire Kumungu saplings. The yordles must have been growing them as part of some sort of experiment..."

"Or perhaps a conservation project," Janna suggested.

"Well, whatever it is, it's gonna get squished!" Poppy yelled, running straight towards the carnivorous plant with her hammer held high. A thick vine sprouted out of the soft ground beneath her, grabbing her by the ankles and suspending her upside-down. Futilely, Poppy swung her hammer to try and whack the plant away, but merely succeeded in tangling herself up even further while another vine slithered over her and confiscated her weapon.

"By the First Star's light, I will destroy you!" Lux declared. "Take this!" She fired a beam of light from the tip of her staff into the heart of the plant, hoping to hit the stigma and combust it from the inside, but her aim was off and she merely burnt through a petal, causing the plant to writhe as though it were in pain. Undeterred, Lux tried again, this time aiming to split one of its vines in half, which went much better. The vine holding Pix captive no longer held a firm grip, but where one vine fell, two more grew in its place, one snatching up the errant fairy while the other grabbed hold of Lux, sweeping her off her feet and slamming her into the ground, causing her to drop her staff in shock.

"Winds, I beseech you, come to our aid!" Janna called, whirling her white staff to create a maelstrom that buffeted the wild flower. The plant held firm, digging its thickened roots into the ground to prevent the winds from carrying it away, before spitting out a gob of sticky sap from its deep curved receptacle. Janna tried to blast the substance away, but its gelatinous consistency made this an impossible task as it clung to her, smothering her like a wet sack.

Incredibly, the Star Guardians had been bested by a brainless plant, driven only by the desire to consume and assimilate all life-forms until the world was covered in vegetation. Janna thought this to be a terrible way for the First Star's light to fade as she felt the thorny tentacle-like vines wrapping around her, squeezing the air from her lungs and causing to inhale some of the toxic goo. Her throat and lungs burned as she swallowed the disgusting sap, which tasted foul, earthy and rotten. She prayed to the First Star to make things quick and painless, but there was no hope of such a fate with the Wildfire Kumungu. It could take days for its digestive fluids to dissolve its prey.

Just as the Star Guardians began to give up hope, every vine that fanned out from its stem shuddered from the impact of one of Jinx's rocket rounds hitting the main body of the plant. The Wildfire Kumungu shrieked and recoiled as its grip on the Star Guardians loosened.

"How'd ya like that one, Flowey?" Jinx taunted, even though the flower possessed no sentience and no will beyond Lulu's enchantment and as such was incapable of understanding words. The enormous flower dipped one of its tendrils into its receptacle, flicking a sizable amount of acidic goo at the rogue guardian. Jinx, however, was pumped up by the excitement and thrill of a proper battle and was easily able to dodge the plant's sluggish attack. Another rocket pummelled the plant's stigma, the sweet spot that Lux had wished to take advantage of, causing it to disintegrate into a sticky mess.

"C'mon, Shiro, let's finish this!" Kuro unfurled itself from its long-barrelled form, letting the white sprite take over to riddle the plant full of fresh bullet holes. Jinx cackled with delight as the plant's gooey innards started spraying everywhere, leaking all over the once-beautiful garden and creating a canvas of chaos. The Wildfire Kumungu thrashed wildly, letting the other Guardians slip from its grasp to give it a better chance to fight off its foe. Without the extra weight holding it back, the plant sent several of its vines shooting forwards toward Jinx's position, still proving no match for her agility and speed. Each time one of those spiked tendrils came close, a burst from the machine gun cut it down, each vine writhing on the ground for a short duration before it died, no longer receiving sustenance from its host plant.

For a final flourish, Jinx brought her two companions together and crafted them into an incendiary bomb, tossing the result deep into the bowels of the wildflower. Enchanted flames spread from the inside outwards, scorching the flowerbed to ashes as she watched. Jinx had provided enough of a distraction to allow the other four (and Pix) to crawl away to a safer location on the other side of the garden, where a rather nosy contingent of students stood watching the events unfold.

"Well, there goes my dissertation," one of them sighed, standing with his head bowed in shame and holding his hands behind his back.

"To be fair, Kumungu ashes do make an excellent fertiliser," a female student said. "That's why the forests of the Kumungu Jungle are so full of luscious vegetation."

"I'm sorry, this was all our fault," Janna said solemnly as Jinx laughed raucously, continuing to watch the roaring flames. "I'll see to it that your grades don't suffer."

"I'd say that's probably the last thing he should be worried about right now," Poppy said dryly, pointing towards the raging inferno, which seemed to be growing bigger by the second. It was only a matter of time before the school itself would be aflame unless someone intervened. Thankfully, the Star Guardians had the power to prevent this.

"Monsoon!" Janna yelled, practically hurling her staff at the flames. Clouds gathered above, shortly followed by a concentrated torrent of rainfall so intense that it began to flood the whole garden.

"At least you won't have to remember to water it anymore," Lulu commented as the water began pooling around their feet. Almost as suddenly as it began, the storm quelled and the clouds parted, the sun shining as though nothing had happened. Meteorologists across Runeterra were bound to be scratching their heads trying to figure that one out, but the students of the Yordle Academy had a definitive answer.

"I suppose this makes Jinx one of us now, doesn't it?" Lux asked breathlessly. "After all, she saved our lives. We owe it to ourselves to show her the path of righteousness so her powers can be used to help humankind."

"And yordlekind," the student whose research had just been destroyed added.

"Don't forget about the minotaurs," Lulu said, as the sound of wet footsteps preceded Jinx's arrival. The hot-headed new recruit wrung out a length of her hair over Poppy's head, prompting an annoyed shriek from the yordle warrior.

"A bit of warning would've been nice," Jinx said, her face as thunderous as the sky had been. "I just got this outfit and it's already ruined."

"I can fix that, actually," said Janna, whipping up a spiral of air around Jinx that dried her out in seconds, but left her hair in desperate need of brushing. "We were all very impressed with you just now. It would be a shame to see you leave so soon..."

"Yeah whatever," Jinx interrupted. "I'm a Star Guardian, same as you, and that means we've all gotta stick together whether I like it or not, right?" Lux and Poppy seemed horrified by this, but Janna stood proudly before her while Lulu cheered and threw pixie dust over Jinx like confetti.

"Of course," said Janna. "This is the start of your journey as a Star Guardian. Long may it continue."


	3. Episode 2: The Master of Evil

**Chapter 2: The Master of Evil**

It was another ordinary school day for the latest arrivals at the Yordle Academy. Dressed in the standard-issue uniform of white blouse, plaid skirts and black knee-high socks, the Star Guardians waited outside a classroom for their teacher, a yellow-furred bespectacled yordle by the name of Professor Pickwick, to arrive and start his History of Runeterra lesson. The troupe were at least half an hour earlier than necessary, but Janna insisted that they had to show their commitment to their studies by being the first to arrive.

"Jinx, be sure not to fall asleep today," she warned her rambunctious new ward. "You wouldn't want another week's detention, would you?"

"No need to remind me," Jinx moaned. "That had to have been the most _boring_ week of my whole life! Especially when that old goat brought out the hextech forcefield to stop me from blowing up the walls…"

"How could you even fall asleep during one of Professor Pickwick's lessons?" Lux asked with a large spoonful of incredulity. "I was hanging onto every word. Until you started snoring, that is…"

"I don't wanna learn about boring old kings and queens," Jinx whined. "When do we start learning stuff that's actually _useful?_ I hear Ziggs' lessons are way more fun."

"History is important, Jinx," Janna said. "We can learn a lot from the mistakes of the past. Surely even you realise that?" This was a truth even the loose cannon herself knew. Jinx's days of terrorising Piltover with no clear motive or goal were well and truly over. She was still struggling, day after day, to come to terms with all the damage she'd caused and the lives she'd claimed. Her transformation from street rat to Star Guardian had changed her outward appearance enough that she could walk the streets without being recognised at a glance, but deep down she hid terrible secrets. The transition had been difficult, and Janna was doing everything she could to guide her through it and try to bring out the best in her. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be working all that well.

"Stop trying to make me care," Jinx said. "You're not my mom, so quit tryin' to act like you are."

"Janna might not be your mother, but she's our leader, so you really should listen to her," Lux said, being a little goody two-shoes as always. Jinx hated Lux's guts. She couldn't stand the way Lux always got the best grades on her homework, how she was always the first one to raise her hand in class to answer the teacher's questions. Lux always had a smile on her pretty little face and took everything in her stride, even that one time she tripped over a chair in class and everybody laughed at her. It was nauseating.

"Oh boy, here we go," Jinx said, looking up at the ceiling as though she hoped the First Star would offer her some guidance. Lux talked too much about things Jinx had absolutely no interest in, like peace and harmony and the all-encompassing love of the First Star.

"She ain't gonna listen," Poppy said. "Nothing gets through that thick skull of hers."

"Anyone here's got a thick skull, it's you, Poppy," Jinx retorted. "I think the First Star was really onto something when it gave you that hammer."

"Me too," Poppy said, turning Jinx's backhanded insult back on her. "Maybe once it's worked its magic on you, you'll fall in line."

"Stop that this instant, all of you!" ordered Janna, horrified at the dissent developing within her own ranks. "This is absolutely not what the First Star wants from us!" A violent wind tore through the corridor, sending Jinx sprawling onto the floor at Poppy's feet.

"Hey, c'mon, what was that all about?" Jinx asked as she dragged herself up, first on all fours and then using the wall to climb back onto her feet. "She started it."

"And I've finished it," Janna said. "Now, behave. I can't keep watch over you all the time, so you must all learn to get along." Janna had been placed in the year above the other girls, so the responsibility fell to Lux in her absence, but the guardian of light was still unable to assert any sort of authority over Jinx.

"Hey, look," Lulu said, pointing down the corridor towards a stooped figure making its approach. "It's the Professor! How'd you do, Professor Pickwick? Isn't it a nice day today?"

"Fine, indeed," the professor said as he walked. "Is it me, or are these corridors getting colder? Must be my age…"

"You four be good now," said Janna, turning to glide down the corridor gracefully to her own class.

"Sure, whatever," Jinx said, folding her arms and scowling as the professor reached into his pocket for the keys. This was going to be yet another boring lesson.

"…Now, if you'll all turn to Page 48 in your textbooks, we can begin," Professor Pickwick said. Today's lesson was on the disappearance of Ivern the Cruel during his conquest of Ionia, an enigma nobody had ever solved. Some said he had attempted to fell a sacred tree known as the Godwillow, and as divine punishment for this sin, been turned into a tree himself. The more logical explanation, and the one the textbooks ran with, was that he had been set upon by the ravenous beasts of the Ionian forests while attempting to flank the final bastion of the Ionian defence.

"Oh boy, today's gonna be boring..." Jinx sighed, staring at the pages until her eyes went out of focus and all the text became a huge blur. History. What a bummer. Whenever things looked as though they were going to get interesting, they became mundane and in came the big moral message about how barbaric war was. There were so many better ways she could be spending her time. She wasn't even allowed to bring Shiro and Kuro into the classroom anymore after a rather exuberant entrance to a science class she'd made the week before. She was now starting to grasp the little creatures' language enough to know when they were hungry, when they wanted warmth, when they were tired and just wanted a nice nap. Jinx always made sure to sneak some food out of the cafeteria for them, especially when extra dessert was being offered.

"Now, who can tell me what we discussed last week?" the professor asked. Of course, Lux's hand shot straight up. It _had_ to be her. "…Ahem, anyone else?" Nobody else raised their hand, not even Poppy. An oppressive silence hung over the classroom. "Alright. Lux, care to give the rest of us a refresher?"

"With pleasure, sir," Lux said. Gods, she sounded so smug, Jinx wanted nothing more than to smack her. Or throw a paper ball at the back of her head while she answered, which she considered doing, but the moment her hand moved toward her notepad, Professor Pickwick's eyes shifted beneath his glasses, staring right at her with a paralysing glare that said 'try that and you'll be in for another detention.' As Lux waffled on about Ivern the Cruel and how his people had left the Freljord to escape the oncoming threat of the Frozen Watchers, Jinx's eyes fluttered as she began to succumb to her boredom. Just as her head was about to hit the desk, a small hand forced her back into an upright position. Great, another bloody do-gooder…

Jinx glared at Poppy, narrowing her eyes to let it be known that this was a bad move on the yordle's part. Poppy was undeterred, glaring right back without a sign of flinching or backing down. She was the one who took her duties the most seriously, which was a serious achievement given just how fervent her cohorts were when it came to obeying the First Star's commands.

"Well remembered, Lux!" the professor said, applauding his student. "Now, for the first part of today's lesson, I'd like you to identify three reasons why Ionia was the nation chosen by Ivern the Cruel for his men to invade…" Jinx really didn't care. She twiddled and twirled her pencil around between her fingers, staring blankly at the pages of her textbook. Did any of this even matter? What was even the point of this lesson? All they ever did was repeat answers from a book like a congregation of nerdy hamster-parrots. It's not like anyone actually _learned_ anything that way.

The only way Jinx had ever learned was by doing things. For example, she learned that Piltover was probably the easiest place in the world to get away with literal murder for years. There seemed to be a dire shortage of police officers, and even if there wasn't, if they hadn't found her secret lair by now, they never would. Her first string of crimes was clumsy and unspectacular compared to what came later, and none of the tricks she'd learned to keep the cops on their toes and off her trail could ever have come from lame textbook. The best criminals never exposed their secrets to anybody. And the ones who did, well, they usually wound up either dead or in prison.

"Alright, pencils down everybody, it's time to share our answers," Professor Pickwick announced. At once, there was a cacophony of clattering as pencils fell from tiny hands onto desks. The awareness that she was one of only three humans in the entire school made Jinx feel all the more out of her comfort zone. These little fuzzballs had their own society and systems that Jinx, as an outsider to yordle culture, would never truly understand. They might have been all different shapes and colours, but to Jinx none of that mattered because all of them were the same to her. They were all boring, stuffy swots who didn't know how to let go of it all and just have a good time. Relaxation seemed to be a foreign concept to these guys.

"Jinx, perhaps you'd like to share your answers with us?" the professor asked. _Oh crap,_ Jinx thought, gulping. She hadn't written a thing and the professor knew it. She wasn't conforming to the social norms and the crusty old guy was calling her out.

"I… uh… yeah…" Jinx quickly thrust both hands forward, shoving her books off her desk so she could stall for time. As she crawled under her desk to retrieve them, she wished she could just hide under there forever and not have to come out and answer, but she'd already been in trouble once with Professor Pickwick and she really didn't fancy yet another week of solitary confinement at break and lunch-time. What had the question been again? Something about an invasion? There was no more time to stall. She was just going to have to bluff her way through this. Or not, as the class was interrupted by the classroom door being flung open.

"Red alert! Red alert!" the interrupting student yelled, frantically waving his arms. Jinx could barely see him from her position below the desk, but she could already see that he was different from the others. Instead of a school uniform, he wore a green hat with red goggles perched on top, gloves and boots that matched the hat and an absurdly small pair of khaki trousers, the legs of which were tucked into his boots. From his neck dangled a bronze telescope, and on his back he carried a bundle of assorted items. This yordle was clearly more than just a student.

"Awww, I thought it was someone's birthday," Lulu said, crestfallen. If there was one thing that everyone knew about yordles, it was that they loved cake, and birthdays were the perfect time for cake. Today, though, there was no cake.

"Good heavens, Teemo, what's the matter?" asked Professor Pickwick as several students shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"A Noxian vessel has been spotted, sir!" Teemo replied in a clipped militaristic manner. "It looks to be headed right toward the school!"

"How mightily convenient," said Lux, rising from her seat. "Excuse me, Professor, but as a Demacian, it is my sworn duty to fight Noxus wherever its grip extends!"

"Me too!" Poppy said, leaping out of her chair and onto the desk.

"Me three!" said Lulu, pumping her fist in the air.

"Well, if you guys are going, guess I better go too," Jinx said, joining her comrades as they abruptly left the classroom, leaving Teemo and Professor Pickwick dumbfounded.

"Where's Janna?" Poppy asked as the four of them watched the big black airship approaching, leaving a trail of thick smoke in its wake.

"She shouldn't be long," said Lux warmly. "I'm sure Ziggs will be very understanding of the situation. Hopefully…"

"Eh, screw her," said Jinx before bringing two fingers to her mouth and whistling. In mere seconds, Shiro and Kuro were by her side, hovering around her head and eagerly waiting for commands. "First Star, hear my call! Or whatever. Just do your thing." With a bright light and a twirl, Jinx's regular uniform was gone, replaced with the sailor uniform with the star brooch. Giggling with glee, she aimed up towards the sky, locking on with Kuro.

"Stop!" Lux screamed, shoving Jinx aside as she fired, causing the rocket to fizz off to the side and explode harmlessly in the middle of the clouds.

"Hey, what the hell was that for?" Jinx asked angrily. "I had a clear shot and you just barged me outta the way! Idiot!"

"It's flying over civilians!" Lux hissed. "You can't just shoot an aircraft down and risk it landing on them! If I hadn't stopped you, scores of people could have been killed!"

"Oh. Right, yeah, gotcha," Jinx said. "So you just wanna let this thing reach its destination and let everyone there die instead while we just stand and watch like morons? Way to go, Lux! How noble of you!"

"That's… that's not right at all!" Lux yelled, stomping her foot. "You just don't get it!"

"Hey, maybe if you use those fancy powers of yours, it'll stop. Just a thought."

"Way ahead of you," Poppy said. "Lulu, gimme a hand." The two of them called upon the First Star, donning their own unique uniforms with colour-coded skirts.

"Gladly," Lulu said, pointing her wand at Poppy's shield. "Enormibus!" The shield began to swell in size, growing from a mere buckler to a mighty disc of justice within seconds. Soon, it was even bigger than the yordle it protected. Not deterred in the slightest, Poppy spun around and flung the shield into the air, smashing the nose of the aircraft and sending it spiralling towards the ground. It was well clear of civilians now, but instead it was on course to land on the school premises, prompting quick action from the Star Guardians.

"Pix, do your thing!" Lulu commanded. The fairy set to work fluttering around the four of them, circling them until a mysterious barrier popped up around them. The timing could not have been more perfect, as the Noxian war vehicle skidded towards them, assorted pieces of shrapnel being shredded away by friction. Thanks to Pix's shield, the aircraft stopped immediately in front of the Star Guardians, the wrecked nose bouncing off as though it were a pebble. Poppy's buckler, now back to its original size, landed not far away, rattling like an oversized coin. Smoke began to rise from the ruined aircraft, swirling around the area to create an impermeable fog of war.

"Nyehehehehehe!" The most evil laugh the girls had ever heard reverberated around them, seeming to bounce from one side of the yard to the other in an instant. The smoke surrounding them cleared around the top of the aircraft just enough for two glowing yellow eyes to pierce through the darkness.

"Show yourself, coward!" Poppy demanded, holding her hammer in front of her ready to smash the villain's skull.

"Yeah, what do you have to hide?" asked Lulu? "Are you really ugly?"

"Noxus is an ugly nation," Poppy said with disgust. "Now come out and face us!"

"Perhaps I will, once I'm done letting you suffer!" the villain boasted. From within the shrouding smoke, a brief sheen could be seen as a long staff glowed with dark magic. The blue light briefly revealed a figure, dressed in purple robes and a pointed hat adorned with spikes and a plume, standing atop the wreckage before towering dark gates surrounded the Star Guardians on all sides. The gates appeared to warp and distort as the dark magic flowed through them, giving them an almost liquid appearance.

"Great job, Lux," Jinx said sarcastically, "you just got us all trapped. Hope you're proud of yourself." A large circular shadow formed around the Star Guardians, prompting them to run from where they stood, but there was little room to manoeuvre between the gates and whatever was falling from the sky. Just as the group were out of the shadow's reach, the spot they had been standing in before was obliterated by an orb of black magic. The concrete cracked from the impact, leaving a great fissure behind. That was going to be expensive to repair.

"Poppy, your shield!" Lulu said, pointing toward the shimmering round object that lay across from them, right near the other side of the surrounding fences. The rippling effect made it appear as though the gates were closing in on them, but Poppy's shield had not been enveloped. The yordle knew right away what the plan was.

"Stick with me, team," Poppy said, marching toward the object as another shadow was cast over their heads. Her pace accelerated as she sensed the blob of magic falling from the sky, hurtling towards them at terminal velocity. The shield lay marginally outside the outline, but little time was left and they were still well within the shadow's boundaries and coming dangerously close to the gates of darkness to boot, piling on the pressure. Poppy heard it whistling towards them and, in her haste, left the team behind to dive out from beneath the shadow and snatch up her shield, rolling as she gathered it up. Misfortune struck, however, and her bottom half sank straight through the mystical material of the gates, rendering her almost immobile. She closed her eyes, not being able to bear watching the others, who were unable to catch up in time, be flattened. She heard the thumping of magic on bodies, thankful that the loud humming of dark magic from the gates and the maniacal mage's laughter drowned out their screams. The First Star would surely disown her for being so brash, but she had to do her duty. She had been ordered by an emissary of the First Star to collect her shield, and that was what she did.

Second after agonising second passed. The humming was gradually starting to quieten, and the sensation was returning below the waist, indicating that the magic holding the gates together was beginning to wear off. Poppy mentally prepared herself for the sight she was about to see, reasoning that the things she'd seen while fighting for the honour of Demacia were far bloodier than this. Magic, compared to the savage weaponry Noxian soldiers were armed with, was a clean way to go. She opened her right eye just a peek, seeing the fuzzy outlines of figures. Figures surrounded by sparkling light…

"Huh?" Poppy opened her eyes fully, seeing Lux standing tall and illuminated by the power of light, having seen her opportunity to awaken her own powers to save the others. Jinx and Lulu shimmered with a weaker, but similar, light, a result of Lux offering them her protection.

"Unbelievable!" the Noxian intruder said in a voice that had before sounded menacing but now merely sounded incredibly shrill. Poppy turned round and looked up at the figure, who was no longer shrouded in mystery, and almost burst out laughing. He could only have been about three feet tall, with the hat adding an extra couple of feet on top of that, and the oversized metal gauntlets and boots he wore looked utterly ridiculous on his tiny frame. But what was a yordle doing piloting a Noxian airship and using dark magic? "But it doesn't matter. None can defeat the mighty Veigar!"

"Yeah, sure," Lux said, winding up for an attack while Jinx laughed so hard she literally collapsed.

" _You're_ a _villain_? Ahahahaha! Oh, man!" Jinx was incapacitated by mirth, something that had been somewhat of a rare commodity as of late. It was impossible to take someone so tiny and adorable seriously when they were trying to act all evil.

"Stop laughing!" Veigar screeched, waving his staff in what was meant to be a threatening gesture but merely came across as comical. "I _am_ evil! You won't find it funny when I destroy you!" This proved to be a brilliant distraction, allowing Lulu to knock him off kilter with a lance of glitter while Poppy scrambled to her feet and joined the others.

"By the First Star's light, I will defeat you! FINAL SPARK!" Lux yelled, calling out her ultimate attack. "FOR DEMACIA!" She floated off the ground, imbued with the power of the stars, and thrusted her entire body forward to fire a long narrow beam of concentrated light directly at Veigar.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Veigar cried as the power of the light blasted him away, sending him rolling across the schoolyard.

"Star Guardians never lose!" Lux said, striking a pose as she stood two feet off the ground. Lulu attempted to do the same, waving her arms around erratically while Jinx took a breather and Poppy merely stood proudly with her hammer by her side. The Star Guardians had fought their first true battle and won handily, and not only that, they had done it without Janna.

The Star Guardians, having returned to their normal student selves, now stood outside the front of the school where quite a congregation had gathered. Some of the teachers were pulling the Noxian airship apart to salvage parts and scrap metal for later use while the students whooped and jeered as the police arrived on the scene to apprehend the criminal. From out of the crowd walked Janna with a smile on her face that communicated a wide variety of emotional responses. Above all, it was the sort of smile that signified success. While the official press statement the school was set to issue made no mention of the Star Guardians, instead suggesting that Veigar simply crash-landed on the school premises, she knew who to thank.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't with you," Janna said, watching as Piltover's chief enforcers, Caitlyn and Vi, escorted Veigar away in handcuffs. The wannabe villain waddled ungainly, still dazed from being hit with a ray of light and bouncing off tarmac. He certainly wasn't going to be in a state to be doing anything evil for quite some time. "If anything had happened to you, I would never have been able to forgive myself."

"You shouldn't worry so much, Janna," Lux replied. "We had it all under control. He wasn't even a threat."

"Just _look_ at him!" Jinx squealed. "Such a tryhard! He woulda been toast in five seconds if I hadn't been caught off guard."

"Well, I'm very proud of you all," Janna said. "I'm sure the First Star is too. You saved the school from peril."

"Well, duh, of course we did," Jinx said. "Isn't that kinda what we do?"

"You didn't _do_ anything," Poppy grumbled.

"It doesn't matter who did what," Lulu said, seeking to act as a mediator. "Let's not have this turn into another toothpaste fiasco. Instead, let's just be happy we won!" The 'toothpaste fiasco' referred to an incident that had occurred in the dorms last week, where it became apparent that Pix just couldn't get enough of the minty substance. Lulu had been forced to promise to buy more as a result.

"You guys were awesome out there," a small voice said. Everyone jumped as Teemo revealed himself from behind a bush.

"How long have you been hiding there, Teemo?" asked Janna.

"Ages," Teemo said cryptically. "I wouldn't be much of a scout otherwise."

"So… you saw everything?"

"I did," Teemo replied. "But don't worry, I'll keep it a secret." He tapped his nose with his paw and winked before vanishing back into the bushes as quickly as he had appeared.

"Well, uh, now what?" Jinx asked. "Is class cancelled? I sure hope so. There's this great arcade in town that does the most _amazing_ ice cream! Hey, maybe they'll let me back in now I'm a Star Guardian!"

"Usually, I'd consult the First Star on such matters," said Janna. "But you know what? I could really do with some ice cream right now."

"Hell yes!" said Jinx, pumping the air. "Hear that, Kuro? We're off to Pennyville to eat all their ice cream and play Zombie Slayer 2 til we run out of counterfeit coins! Get excited!" Shiro squeaked sadly, pining for some attention. "Don't worry, Shiro, you can have some too. They've got your favourite flavour, mint choc chip!"

"Hey, that's my favourite flavour too!" Lulu declared.

"I really ought to be studying for the upcoming Ergonomic Trigonometry test, but I guess one afternoon off couldn't hurt," Lux said, slightly hesitant but overall happy that the team were finally united by something, even if it was merely something as trivial as ice cream.

"Poppy, you better be there or be _lame!_ " Jinx said, placing a foot on the yordle's head and ruffling her hair with it.

"If that's what you're all doing, okay, I'll come," Poppy said. "Just don't come anywhere near the rum and raisin 'til I'm done with it!" Even though there was no official word that classes had indeed been cancelled for the day, the Star Guardians had their hearts set on this bonding session, so off they went to get the best ice cream in the multiverse.

* * *

 **A.N.: Thanks to everyone who's been reading so far, such warm and positive responses :D Anyone who knows me at all will know I've been maining Jinx since I started playing around the end of last season so of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity to write more about her. Been having a blast so far, and I hope everybody else is having as much fun reading as I did writing it.**


	4. Episode 3: The Mechanized Menace

**Chapter 3: The Mechanized Menace**

Another day, another boring lesson Jinx wasn't allowed to sleep through. Technology class had initially seemed like a dream come true when it had shown up on the timetable, bringing to mind killer robots with rocket launchers, but the class itself bore no resemblance to her imagined version. Instead, the class sat listening to a teacher with about as much charisma as a dead cockroach waffling on about the exact specifications of everyday household objects. Who cared about how toasters and hairdryers worked? When were they actually going to _build_ something? Not only that, it was a double period, so they had to endure _two whole hours_ of this. Two hours Jinx felt could be spent doing something more fun.

Today, however, there happened to be something that provided somewhat of a relief from the usual tedium. A new student had recently arrived at the school and this was going to be her first class at Yordle Academy. The small, blue-skinned, white haired girl stood staunchly at the front of the class, amazingly calm for someone who was starting afresh. The Star Guardians had been through this process too, and it wasn't easy to stand there with the fuzzy horde staring at you and think of things to say that would give a good impression. Jinx's first words to her new classmates had been 'Hi, I'm Jinx and I like to blow stuff up,' after which the teacher had hurried her to her seat and moved onto the other Star Guardians. Not the best start, that was for sure.

"Class, I'd like you all to give a warm welcome to our newest student. Tristana, why don't you introduce yourself?" Everyone already knew her name, not just because the teacher had just told them, or even because it was written on the blackboard behind her. There had been an air of anticipation around the school for several days now as the rumours of an inbound student began to circulate. Although the move was supposed to be top secret, it appeared those behind it had placed their trust in someone who could not keep their mouth shut, and so by the time the Bandle City Gunner had arrived at the school, it was common knowledge throughout all of Piltover.

"Uh, hi everybody," Tristana said, giving a little wave. Lulu waved back and smiled. "So yeah, I'm Tristana, and the higher-ups back home thought it'd be good for me to come here for a while, see if I don't learn a few things. Nice place you've got here. Reminds me of home, which is good." _Well duh,_ Jinx thought, _your people built this place. Of course it feels like home to you._

"Hey, Tristana, do you remember me?" a fuzzy brown yordle at the back of the class asked. "Jimmy the Wrench? We served together on the front lines repelling that Noxian invasion. Hoo boy, that was a trip." Tristana's eyes widened and the smile on her face grew bigger.

"Oh wow, Jimmy, I had no idea you were here!" she exclaimed. "I always wondered where you went after you dropped out. Man, this is gonna be so much more fun than I first thought!"

"Oh, oh, oh, what about me?" Lulu asked, hopping up and down in her seat. "I'm the cute one that got kicked out for turning the other kids into squirrels." Tristana's expression changed to a frown as she rubbed her chin, racking her brain for any memory of Lulu.

"Hmmm… nope, sorry, doesn't ring a bell," she said at last. "But hey, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Don't worry, I'm a good friend to have. Anyone tries anything, KABLAMMO!" She mimed blowing some fools away with her signature cannon, recoil and all, whacking against the blackboard and causing it to wobble. "Ow…"

"Hey, shorty," Jinx said. Students began turning round to glare at Jinx, and she could've sworn temperature in the room had literally dropped several degrees. "You're a gunner, right? What's the craziest thing you've ever done with that hand-cannon? Have you ever shot an elephant before? Because lemme tell you, that's a mess that's _really_ tough to clean up…"

"Well, we're kind of not supposed to just go around causing wanton destruction," Tristana said. "Where we come from, that'd be classed as a war crime and anyone caught doing that would most likely be exiled. But I have to admit, there's nothing more satisfying than knocking down a tower with an explosive shot. The way the base just crumbles away and the whole thing just comes tumbling down… woo! Nothin' beats it!"

"Well, we're not in your town anymore. You don't have to listen to those stuffy old guys, right?"

"Strictly speaking, I'm still a member of the Bandle City Commandos, so I'm still technically bound by duty," Tristana said, bursting Jinx's bubble. Dammit, why did these yordles have to be so pure and incorruptible? Can't a girl just have a little fun every now and then? Even Lulu, who was loopier than a Mobius strip, took the First Star's words as gospel. "But if you ever wanna swing by the firing range and join me for a little target practice, I'm sure we can work something out." A firing range? Jinx supposed that didn't sound too bad after all, but she would have preferred another night of fun at the zoo. She'd been back there recently as part of a weekend enrichment activity and was amazed to see that even after all this time, the zookeepers still hadn't managed to wash all the paint off the rhinoceros.

"Well, if we're all done asking questions, we can let the lesson begin," the professor said, tugging as his collar and nodding for Tristana to go and take her seat. However, it seemed the world conspired against this class' commencement as the ceiling caved in, followed by the landing of an intruder, kicking up a cloud of dust that caused the front row to start coughing and spluttering.

"What are you doing hanging with these losers, Tristana?" the intruder asked. The dust had begun to settle, revealing a mechanical contraption that stood twice as tall as many of the students with a spiked ball attached to its left arm and a flamethrower attached to the right arm. Sat in the cockpit was a yordle who was covered in blue fur and had a pair of goggles perched behind his long cat-like ears.

"What are _you_ doing so far from home, Rumble?" Tristana retorted, hands on hips.

"I'm here to do what must be done," Rumble replied, pushing forward a lever on his mech to move it one step closer to Tristana. "I've come to take you away from this place."

"Look, Rumble, we've been over this before," Tristana said, looking less confident with the droid drawing ever closer. "I came here by choice. I said I'd come back and visit when I got the chance!" The mechanical contraption stood between her and her classmates, arms spread wide to prevent her from running. The left arm of the mech swung behind Tristana, sweeping her up off her feet and pinning her tightly up against the robot's metallic body. It was lucky that none of the spikes had impaled her, but even so she was still trapped in a one-armed embrace, both of her arms pinned to her sides leaving no way to escape.

"Hey, lemme go!" she ordered, angry and authoritative. "Let me go _right now!_ "

"You know I can't do that, Tristana," Rumble said, shaking his head before turning the mech around to face the students. "Don't you even think about moving, or I'll burn you all alive!" A flicker of flame erupted from the right arm to make his intent perfectly clear as he backed out of the classroom, smashing right through the door and taking several clunking steps through the corridor before the sound of firing thrusters could be heard, followed by the sound of part of the roof exploding as Rumble made his escape. The class was silent, still in shock from what they had just witnessed. After a while, the teacher cleared his throat and picked up a piece of chalk.

"Today's lesson will be…"

"Aren't you going to do something?" Lux interrupted. "A student was just kidnapped right before our very eyes, and you want to just carry on like nothing happened?"

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" the teacher asked in return. "Dismiss everyone and let your educations suffer? It can't be done. Besides, do you really think there's anything anyone in this school would be able to do to stop that menace?"

"Of course," Lux said, backing down. "You know best, Professor." Jinx, however, was having none of it, but not for the reason the other Star Guardians may have expected.

"Did you see how cool that robot was? Seriously, that's awesome! How come we don't get to make those?"

"Because to do so would be incredibly unsafe," the professor replied curtly. "So, today, as I was saying…"

"Fine," Jinx said, rising from her seat. "I'm gonna track that little fuzzball down and force him to build me my very own robot!" Off she shot, managing to clear several desks and roll out of the door in one swift movement. Star powers were cool, but huge metal death contraptions were cooler still. Sure, Tristana needed rescuing, already providing an incentive to follow Rumble to wherever he'd taken her, but for Jinx this was secondary to getting her hands on a carnage-causing battle bot.

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen a cool-looking robot around here?" Jinx had been asking everyone she met the same question as she roamed the streets of Piltover looking for an answer. People either turned away from her or shook their heads in response. Either nobody had an answer, or they didn't want to share it with her. Did they recognise her? The wanted posters still clung to the walls in the back alleys, torn and fluttering in the wind, but elsewhere they had been taken down. The streets seemed busier than they had been while she was still the crime queen of Piltover. Perhaps people had felt that justice had been served and it was finally safe to go out again.

Scaffolding covered most of the city, evidence of the slow post-Jinx rebuilding process. Everywhere she looked houses, offices and shops were being erected around the burned husks of the buildings she had taken great joy in destroying. Every so often she would hear the distinctive hooting of a Plague Jungle monkey, one of the many species she had freed from the captivity of Piltover Zoo. Another memory. Truth be told, wandering the streets alone like this felt like she was walking through a graveyard, an urban memorial garden, a tribute to her troubled past. It felt cold and lonely, and Jinx didn't like that one bit.

"There she is," she'd heard a man whisper to his wife as he pointed. "She's got some nerve showing her face around here again after everything she's done." After everything she'd done, it was no surprise that she still wasn't welcome in some parts. As she walked under a balcony, she had felt a hard object hit her on the head, and looked up to see a small child laughing. The kid had dropped a rock on her, and she was half-tempted to open fire on the balcony right there and then, but Shiro and Kuro refused to comply. They served as the superego to her id, the embodiment of her newly-found conscience that determined the difference between right and wrong, and if they didn't want to shoot something, it was something that Jinx had no business trying to destroy. The First Star knew of her past misdeeds and had seen fit to ensure that Jinx made amends by providing her with weaponry that had a mind of its own.

"Fine, Shiro, I'll leave him alone," she grumbled as the sprite tugged on her hair. She turned away as the boy ducked out of sight, reasoning that he was doing the same thing she used to do. All kids ever wanted to do was play and frolic and have fun. Growing up meant you couldn't do that anymore. Jinx didn't want to grow up. All meaning in her life was lost when she'd seen through one of her own childish delusions and come to a realisation that she couldn't be who she was forever, that it hadn't been Fishbones who'd been telling her to clean up her act and try to live a normal life, it was _her._ Fate had now decreed her purpose was to protect this world instead of destroying it, restoring some semblance of meaning to her existence, but at the same time it was so at odds with who she was, who she'd always been, that it was still difficult to know what to do.

Weaving through the labyrinthine city of Piltover required no conscious effort from Jinx, as she knew every inch of the technological haven like the back of her hand, but this only led to more troubling memories. The world had rejected her old identity, and it was not ready to embrace her as its saviour. The disdain people were showing her whenever she stopped, tried to strike up a conversation in the same warm friendly manner Lux did at school, was proof that she would never be truly absolved of her crimes. The Star Guardians may have accepted her, but that wasn't enough.

"Oh well, I don't need people anyway," Jinx had tried to convince herself, but the truth, deep down, had _always_ been that her crimes stemmed from a deep-rooted sense of loneliness and isolation. That was why she had always taken such great care to ensure that her crimes were distinctly hers. Everyone would know her name. Or at least the name she had been given by the people. Did she even have another name? It was hard to say. Her memory just seemed to stop at a certain point. But that didn't matter right now. Guns had been her only friends and companions when she was at large, when the police had sought desperately to have her put behind bars, when she had been so starved of human contact that she genuinely believed her guns talked to her. Now, they really _did_ , and things didn't feel quite so lonely anymore.

Shiro nudged her head gently, squeaking in his strange little language and extending a paw as though pointing at something. Dead ahead stood a factory that had once belonged to the Revick Corporation, but had been forced to close due to the economic downturn the city was suffering. This was one of the few buildings that had remained untouched during Jinx's rampages, and as such, would serve as an excellent hideout. Kuro chipped in too, saying something about big metal men and whirring machinery.

"Of course!" Jinx exclaimed. "That must be where that little fuzzy dude's hiding! C'mon, you two, let's get our hands on a sweet new ride!" With renewed vigour and a bounce in her step, Jinx scurried along the streets, grabbing Kuro and transforming him into a rocket launcher to bust through the wall and enter the building.

* * *

Deep in the factory's bowels, Rumble sat at a small desk poring over diagrams and blueprints, ignoring the muffled cries of his distressed captive, who was safely secured to the wall with cast-iron restraints and gagged with a grubby white handkerchief he used to clean the oil off his most precious creation.

"This is _our_ technology!" he said disdainfully, screwing up one of the blueprints and tossing it across the room angrily. " _We_ should be the ones profiting from this, not those filthy apes!" Tristana attempted to complain, but her replies came out as nought but a series of unintelligible noises beneath the makeshift gag.

"What's that? I couldn't hear you!" Rumble said, cupping a hand to his ear. He got up from the desk and crossed the room towards his captive, pulling the rag down her chin so she could speak.

"I said, you've got this all wrong!" Tristana replied. "Don't you get it? Heimerdinger set the Academy up for our benefit! Every time a company uses our ideas, he gets paid for it and the money gets reinvested into the school to fund more projects."

"Yeah, and who reaps the benefits of those projects? Not us! The humans do!" Rumble yelled, becoming increasingly animated. "We yordles bend over backwards for the humans, and for what? Nothing! They give us a pat on the head and then tell us to scoot off on our merry way while they make money off our genius! We get nothing, _nothing_ , in return! A human would _never_ offer their services to us like that."

"I'm pretty sure that's not true," said Tristana.

"Really? Humans are the most selfish, arrogant, savage species on Runeterra! They've got you brainwashed, just like all the other sad cases up at that old coot's 'academy'." Rumble made sure to include finger-quotes when he said 'academy'. "Slap a title on something, make the idiots think they're part of something important, and they'll do anything that's asked of them. I almost feel sorry for them. And for you, for letting yourself get wrapped up in this conspiracy. I just want what's best for you, Tristana."

"Sure you do," Tristana said sarcastically. "I'm sure that being kidnapped and held against my will is totally in my best interests…"

"This is only a temporary measure," Rumble said. "Until you wake up and realise there's no place for you here. Once I've revealed the truth and flattened this city, I'll take you home. To the hero's welcome that I deserve." As he stood proudly in front of her, hands on hips, totally taken in by his own spiel, the building rocked with the force of a controlled detonation, causing him to topple over comically. Tristana couldn't help but laugh, causing him to snap at her.

"You be quiet! Once I've dealt with this intruder, we'll see who's laughing." Over in the other corner of the room was his prized battle suit, augmented with a couple of upgrades based off the blueprints he'd found and some scrap materials he'd gathered. He hopped into the cockpit, strapping himself in, ready to do battle against whatever foe lay ahead.

* * *

Another wall came tumbling down, unable to withstand Kuro's might. Jinx had blown her way through so many offices that she had begun to wonder if this place actually manufactured anything, but dead ahead of her lay the expanse of the factory floor. As far as the eye could see, abandoned machinery stood still, waiting to be given a purpose once more. On the conveyer belts sat metal human-shaped figures, clearly unfinished. Many of them were missing limbs, and some were just a chrome head and torso lying on the production line, waiting for eternity to become functional. There lay the answer. Ivor Revick, the corporation's namesake, had once been a scientist who was the human equivalent of Heimerdinger, but after the sudden death of his daughter, he had left the field and began to produce lifelike replicas of humans, many of whom served as menial workers in the city, sweeping the streets and serving fast food. It was said that Revick himself had built a robotic version of his dead daughter in an attempt to circumvent the grieving process, but nobody could say for sure if this was true, and often the people spreading these rumours were never heard from again.

Jinx thought it was so sad that these robots would never live. Then again, she only wanted them to come to life so she could swiftly turn them into scrap metal. Unlike people, robots could easily be repaired and rebuilt. Jinx wandered around the open floor, getting a closer look at the robots and examining them. Some of the robots were almost finished, with distinct facial features and detailed hands and feet. They looked almost real, but their cold, dead eyes were an instant giveaway that something wasn't right. Jinx reached out to touch one of them, feeling the smooth exposed metal jutting out from beneath synthetic skin. It was cold. That was what made humans and robots different.

A hiss, followed by a buzzing sound, startled Jinx, causing her to jump backwards just in time to avoid two electric darts. She turned her head and sure enough, there was Rumble, looking ready for a fight.

"You! I recognise you from the Yordle Academy!" he said disdainfully.

"Hey, there you are!" Jinx said, happy to see the yordle."Love the robot! It's soooooo cool! What's that thingamajig on the front do? Oh, and are those _rockets_ on the back! I _love_ rockets!" She tried to get closer, wanting to swoop in and hug the fuzzy little critter and his death machine, but Rumble had other ideas. The mech's left arm swung forwards, catching Jinx in the side and knocking her several feet away.

"Man, that thing packs a punch," she wheezed as she brought herself to her feet.

"Stay away from me!" Rumble ordered. "I'm sick of you humans and your greed! How dare you come here and try to steal my secrets!" A small flare erupted from the nozzle of his flamethrower, showing that he meant business.

"So you're not gonna build me a robot, I take it?" Jinx asked, reaching across her right shoulder for Shiro. "Fair enough then. I'm gonna put you on the scrap heap!" Her entire body glowed with the First Star's power, morphing her from ordinary schoolgirl Jinx to Star Guardian. Now, she was totally ready to turn Rumble's mech into junk metal.

"Heh, some fancy tricks you've got there, human," Rumble said. "They won't save you, though." The robot hopped on top of the conveyer belt, gaining a height advantage at close quarters. Jinx spotted a lever a short way away from her, firing a round of sparkling ammunition at it to flip the conveyer belts on. Somehow, even after all this time lay dormant, the place still had power. Rumble wrestled with the controls of his mech, slowly manoeuvring against the steady movement of the belts. A discarded robot was rolling along the line towards him, an obstacle that he sought to take advantage of by impaling it on his spiked ball. Jinx fired several bursts from Shiro, aiming to dislodge the yordle from his cockpit, but years of total recklessness had caused her aim and precision to suffer, causing many of the bullets to ricochet harmlessly off the mechanized menace's frame.

"Nice try," Rumble said as he threw his arm forward, dislodging the robotic carcass from his suit's left arm.

"I've got more where that came from," Jinx said, whipping out the Zapper and firing a shimmering bolt of electricity at the pilot. Her aim was true this time, but Rumble had already set his course towards her, the flamethrower flaring to life as he stomped forwards. Jinx backed away from the heat, climbing onto another conveyer belt and switching over to Kuro. She felt more confident with rockets by her side. After all, they didn't really need precise aiming, just pointing in the right direction. A pink stardust-infused rocket fizzed out of Kuro's barrel, hurtling toward the cockpit at breakneck speed. It hit the mark, exploding into a mass of pink glitter that coated every surface around it. Jinx pumped her fist into the air and jumped off the conveyer belt, assuming her victory had been sealed, but when the dust cleared, Rumble was staring right at her, grinning menacingly.

"Hey, guess what?" he asked. "I've got a forcefield. Betcha didn't expect that, did you?" Where dust seemed to have settled on thin air, Jinx could see a faint blue outline and hear a faint humming of electricity. The battle suit hovered several inches above the conveyer belt, gliding closer to Jinx. She leapt out of the way, climbing on top of an old piece of machinery and firing another rocket. This one missed entirely as Rumble continued flying forward, making a beeline towards her vantage point. At this point, the yordle decided to demonstrate that the rockets on the back of his machine weren't just for show, firing them off one by one as Jinx jumped around frantically avoiding them. Each one dug its way through whichever surface it hit, embedding itself into the ground before beginning to combust, making the ground around it too hot to safely stand on. Jinx found herself on the opposite side of the conveyer belt after this barrage, but not before she had made sure to leave Rumble a little present.

"Hey, buddy," Jinx said, pointing to the mech's right leg. "Tag! You're it!" While he was busy firing off rockets, Jinx had surreptitiously dropped a line of Flame Chompers that the hapless yordle had walked right into. Rumble's initial reaction was one of shock and terror, trying to shake the bomb off as it clung to the leg with a vice-like grip, but then he began to grin again, fear subsiding and giving way to triumphant smugness. He activated his forcefield once more, the shield taking the brunt of the small explosion at his feet, and resumed the chase, firing off a taser round in Jinx's direction. The missiles he had planted began to detonate, blowing huge chunks out of the floor and the conveyer belts and sending shrapnel flying everywhere. With his shields up, he could saunter through the blasts with no worries, whereas Jinx had to be more careful where she stepped.

Jinx found herself stuck in one corner of the factory floor, the area immediately surrounding it left near enough impassable due to being punched full of smoking, red-hot craters. Rumble's robot was surprisingly nimble considering how clunky it looked, hovering across the gap before landing and walking on two unstable-looking legs towards her. Instead of risking her shots being nullified again, Jinx used Kuro's rockets to knock down the wall opposite her, opening the space up a little more, but as she turned to run for cover, a sharp shock surged up her spine, throwing her onto the floor as her limbs seized up.

"How's it feel looking _up_ to a yordle?" Rumble asked as he stood over her, revving up the flamethrower. He yanked a lever to his right, and the mech's right arm sputtered, spitting out a pathetic flame that even a candle would put to shame, ruining the effect somewhat. "Damn, don't play up on me now!"

"You might wanna get that looked at," Jinx said, the sensation returning to her body. Her coordination was still scrambled, though, and climbing to her feet proved to be a monumental task as she staggered uncontrollably away from Rumble, smacking headfirst into the wall. "Ow…"

"Flame on!" Rumble yelled, pushing the lever up before pulling it back down even harder than before, this time getting the result he desired. A wide cone of flame began to erupt from the nozzle of his flamethrower and the robot took four long, deliberate steps towards Jinx. _One_. In a manner of seconds, things had gone from good, to bad, to _really_ bad. _Two_. Even from where she was lying after her encounter with the wall she could feel the flamethrower's heat. _Three._ Kuro and Shiro had left her side and were huddled in a corner, shivering with fear. Even her weapons had given up this time. _Four._ If she stood up now, she would be right in range for a roasting. She could feel the sweat forming on her forehead as the heat became unbearable. Her immediate vision was nothing but the orange rippling wave of fire, so she closed her eyes, hoping for a miracle. And, lo and behold, the First Star seemed to answer as the immense heat vanished.

"Nonononono! HothothothothotHOT!" she could hear Rumble screaming in a panic. She dared to open her eyes once more and witnessed the sorry sight of the entire robot glowing the same orange as the flames that had been so close to burning her while the yordle wrestled with the controls. Jinx could sense that things were about to go from bad to worse for Rumble, and her prayers to the First Star were doubly answered as a gale whipped through the factory, knocking Rumble off kilter while the other Star Guardians ran in through the demolished wall, with Janna cradling the rescued Tristana close to her chest like a baby.

"Sorry we took so long," Lux said as she trapped Rumble and his invention in a ball of light. She crouched down, grabbing hold of Jinx's hands and helping her back to her feet, supporting her on her shoulder. Poppy swung her giant hammer at Rumble, knocking the maverick yordle out of his seat and into the opposite wall. Tristana jumped from Janna's arms and ran to Rumble's side while Lulu prodded the abdicated mech with her staff, causing it to topple over. Its arms and legs flew off as it hit the ground, which to Jinx reeked of shoddy craftsmanship. And to think, she wanted this guy to build her a fighting robot…

"Tristy, forgive me…" Rumble said weakly, reaching out a hand.

"I don't know if I can," Tristana replied, crouching to meet his eye level. "You have every right to be angry at humanity for all the things they've done to us yordles over the years, but that doesn't make it right to _hate_ them. There are so many good humans out there. Like Lux and Janna. They came to rescue me because of the light that shines within their hearts. You've got a lot of issues to sort out, Rumble."

"I meant… the robot…" Rumble said, clearly in pain and discomfort.

"You named the robot after me?" Tristana asked, turning up her nose. "That'd be almost sweet if it wasn't a death machine."

"You're one to talk, Miss Gunner," Rumble said, coughing. Within moments, Janna was at his side, grabbing his wrist to make sure his pulse wasn't irregular. The yordle attempted to shirk away, not wanting a human anywhere near him, let alone actually _touching_ him, but he couldn't.

"We'll have to take you to the hospital," Janna said in a matronly manner. "Then we'll see what happens next."

"I don't wanna go," Rumble said, trying to roll away. "I'm fine! Leave me the hell alone!"

"This one's going to be difficult," said Janna, picking him up in the same way she'd carried Tristana before.

"Another fine victory for the Star Guardians!" Lux cheered, jostling Jinx.

"Yeah, great work mopping up as always, you guys," Jinx said, standing freely. "Screw this, I'm off to Pennyville for some more ice cream."

"Wait up, Jinx," Lux said, grabbing her hand as she tried to walk away. "We've still got a Physics class to go to this afternoon! You can't just take the afternoon off!"

"Watch me," Jinx said, relinquishing Lux's grip and calling Shiro and Kuro to her side. Just as she had in Zaun, she combined the two of them into a guided missile and climbed aboard. "Later, losers!" Off she shot far into the distance, riding off into the sky until she was nothing but a shimmer of light to those watching below.


	5. Interlude: Fear

**Interlude: Fear**

Jinx lay languidly atop the roof of a mansion, admiring the view such a luxurious spot afforded her. She had seldom taken time to look upon the streets of Piltover; the only times she had ever stopped to admire the city of progress was to witness the results of her own handiwork, an otherwise pitch-black night illuminated by orange plumes of flame and punctuated by loud, earth-shattering explosions. Those days were now nought but memories, as the First Star had seen it fit to grant her life purpose, although Jinx was still ambivalent towards her preordained fate. Much as she had always done, she ran away from her responsibilities, and instead of being at school as she ought to be she was hanging out here, watching the world go by.

Looking down, she could not help but notice a frenzy of activity down below, a congregation of people beginning to gather outside the resplendent mansion directly opposite her vantage point. This was something she could not miss. However, it would be no simple matter getting down to ground level from this precarious height, and she was perfectly settled here with a large cup of soda and a half-eaten bag of sweets from Pennyville situated within arms' reach. This was the perfect time to see what Shiro and Kuro could do.

One of the best things about having two magical fairy companions was not just the bragging rights she had over all the other Star Guardians, who only had one at most, but the discovery that she could manipulate their forms into anything she desired. For this occasion, a pair of binoculars was perfect. Squashing the two sprites together to form said optical device, Jinx zoomed in on the crowd and was unable to hold backs childish squeal of glee upon spotting two familiar faces. Her two favourite police officers were out on patrol. Caitlyn, with her tall purple hat with the weird metal things hanging off it, and the boisterous Vi, with her shocking pink hair and massive gauntlets, were deep in conversation, and Jinx was desperate to find out what the two of them were talking about. Her efforts to eavesdrop required her to quickly disassemble her binoculars and send Shiro closer to ground level to listen in. According to the First Star, people often did not perceive that which they could not comprehend, so it was a safe bet that Shiro would go completely unnoticed. After all, who among the rational-thinking police force would ever believe a little white poofy thing was spying on them?

"That's it, Shiro," Jinx said, maintaining a telepathic link with her pet as he made the descent. Kuro whined in protest, and Jinx responded by grabbing the fuzzy black creature and twisting him into the shape of a telescope. Now, she could see and hear what was unfolding down below. Already, brief snippets of conversation were reaching her brain.

"The hell are we even doing here anyway?" Vi asked, folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. "Seems like a pretty open and shut case if you ask me."

"No case is ever as simple as it first appears," Caitlyn replied. "Besides, when the head of Clan Polydact himself comes calling, you can't exactly refuse. He thinks there's evidence of foul play, and that's enough to warrant a thorough investigation." Jinx knew of Clan Polydact. In fact, everyone in Piltover did. They were one of the few families in the city to have amassed their massive wealth through completely legitimate means, and they were all distinguishable by the recurrent trait of having six fingers on each hand, often said to be the result of centuries of inbreeding. However odd the family may be, everyone appreciated their creativity and the second-to-none hextech household appliances they invented. Even Jinx herself was smitten with them, especially their microwave ovens.

"People die in their sleep all the damn time," Vi said. "You sayin' that because this girl just happened to be born into the right family, that makes her case special?"

"Not precisely," Caitlyn said in that rich, upper-class Piltover accent. Jinx often attempted to imitate said accent, rambling about tea and biscuits and other such nonsense, but it was harder than expected and Jinx's efforts were often lacking in timbre. "We may owe the clan a few favours, but for a girl so young to die in her sleep is far to unusual not to investigate regardless. We have every reason to be suspicious." Jinx quickly grew bored of the tiresome exchange about bureaucrats and procedural matters, instead turning her attention to a window.

"Shiro, quick, over here!" she ordered, and just as the First Star said, nobody noticed the little white sprite floating outside the tall bedroom window. The room itself was bigger than any Jinx had ever had the fortune of sleeping in, full of finely-polished ornate furniture, rows upon rows of porcelain dolls and a menagerie of stuffed animals. It was also full of people laying down markers, drawing lines along the white carpet and running their fingers along shelves. At the edge of the crime scene, several more police personnel stood by holding cameras, the sort with the giant flashbulbs on them. Could the police not afford better equipment?

"One… two…" someone counted, and then there was a blinding flash as one of the cameramen took a photograph of the bedroom. So this was what police work was like? _How boring_ , Jinx thought, glad she was lounging up on the rooftop instead of being anywhere near the scene of a suspected crime. While most of the crime scene investigators were working diligently, two of them stood by the window and conversed. One was fairly large, a neat and meticulous man with slicked-back hair, a pencil moustache and a shiny metal hand.

"None of this is adding up, Conrad," he said to his scruffier, bespectacled companion, his words muffled by the thick glass of the window but still intelligible. "Lilian Polydact, fourteen years of age, dead in her own bed. Absolutely no signs of a break-in, no blood, no marks on the body. Nothing. Someone that young doesn't just die in their sleep." The man Jinx presumed was named Conrad reached into his pocket and pulled something out to show his colleague. She could not see exactly what it was due to the angle obstructing her view, but whatever it was, Jinx had to assume it was important and pertinent to the case.

"I agree," Conrad said. "In fact, I've had a bit of a theory for a while. I think…"

"Hey, outta the way, you two, we need to get a good shot of the window!" one of the cameramen yelled, and the duo awkwardly shuffled away to let the photographers do their work. Jinx found it amusing that even now, even when they were staring him right in the face, nobody seemed to notice Shiro. Of course, it would have been funny if they did. The looks of bafflement and confusion would be priceless. However, for her current task of being a covert Star Guardian, it was just as well that Shiro seemed to be invisible to ordinary people. If only yordles weren't so sensitive to magic, she wouldn't have to worry about the ban the school had placed on having pets in the classroom…

Jinx was rudely dragged back to reality as the camera flashed again. Damn, could they not get hold of those more compact digital cameras or something? Jinx was even sure that Clan Polydact themselves had just released a new model under their Polysonic brand. Wasn't the whole point of sucking up to aristocracy to get a bunch of cool freebies? Once several snaps had been take, the two investigators resumed their position beside the window and continued their discussion.

"Look, Conrad, there's no point telling me about whatever wild theories you've got. I know what you're like with this stuff. Go tell the boss if it's really that important," the first investigator, who Jinx spontaneously decided to call Detective Killjoy, said.

"Well, gee, I would but..." Conrad said hesitantly before nervously gulping.

"You still scared of what Vi might say?" Killjoy asked. "Relax, pal, it's not her words you need to worry about."

"I'm not scared," Conrad refuted, shaking his head vigorously.

"Sure you aren't," Killjoy said. "You seem hesitant for someone who isn't scared, though."

"Alright then, I'll go see the sheriff right away!" Conrad said, hurriedly turning away. "We'll see who's right!" He made his leave from the crime scene, trying not to bump into people or ruin any of the carefully placed markers. Jinx would soon want to switch her attention back to her two favourite officers, but first, she took another good long look at that magnificent bedroom. More specifically, the four-poster bed with its curtains pulled back, affording a clear view of the bed's occupant. A fair-skinned brunette with a generically pretty face lay there, her final expression appearing to be one of sheer terror, the wide eyes and agape mouth suggesting her death was far from peaceful. Such a familiar expression, and one that Jinx had once taken great joy in seeing before the day Fishbones died, or rather, the day she realised Fishbones had never lived...

Jinx shook her head, dispelling those unpleasant memories. She could no longer bear to look upon that face, or anything within that room, so she turned her attention to one of the other windows, sending Shiro over to listen in once again. The next window she peered through would do little to improve her mood, as it was evident that an outpouring of grief was taking place. Fat rich people cried in the arms of worried-looking police officers.

"To think, some _monster_ would take the life of our precious daughter," sobbed the head of Clan Polydact, the manatee-esque monstrosity known as Julian Aurelius Polydact.

"Don't worry, sir, we'll catch whoever was responsible," the policeman Mr. Polydact was currently smothering said, awkwardly patting him on the back.

"My only child!" the equally odious lady of the manor wailed. "Oh, by the gods, this is cruel!" Given her greying hair and dreadful dress sense, Jinx sensed this woman was probably past the age where one could safely bear a child, and thus, the death of the direct heir of Clan Polydact's vast fortune was somewhat of an issue. However, in the very likely event of the untimely death of these two walruses, there would be plenty of cousins (twice removed, several times ousted) who would lay claim to the estate and all the riches that came with it.

 _I could so easily just blow it all to hell,_ Jinx thought. In fact, it occurred to her how odd it was that she had never got around to blowing up the Polydact mansion. Perhaps it was because it was situated far from the city centre, and thus the chaos would have been less far-reaching in its effects than the many times she had shut down the heart of Piltover. Now, though, her urges of destruction could no longer be sated in the traditional ways. Losing Fishbones had made her realise that the path she had taken was not necessarily one that would bring her happiness and fulfilment, and that as fun as blowing everything up was, if she kept going the consequences would soon catch up with her. Luckily, First Star had looked past all that and decided to give her all the powers anyone could ever hope for. And right now, she was using them to spy on people.

"Ugh, I hate it when things make me think about myself," Jinx grumbled. "C'mon Shiro, let's eavesdrop on someone that isn't totally miserable." By now, that little nerdy-looking fellow had left the mansion and was now handing the sheriff and her chief enforcer what looked like sheets of paper. When Jinx finally got a good look at them, she saw that they were not just boring documents, but a series of striking images. Photographs. Photographs of other crime scenes.

"What am I s'pose to be seeing here, Conrad?" Vi asked. "Tell me this isn't like the time you gave Pontifex Francisco that Overtale thing or whatever the hell it was."

"Alright, if you insist, I'll guide you through it," Conrad said. One by one, he detailed the cases the photographs depicted, pointing to each one as he did so. "Mrs. Jones, Thursday 8th, death by cardiac arrest. Elderly woman dying of heart failure, sounds fairly standard but as you can see in the bottom corner of the image…" He moved his finger down to the precise spot he was talking about, and Vi looked puzzled.

"A jack-in-the-box?" she asked. "Really?"

"Mr. Kruschev, Friday 9th, cause of death also cardiac arrest," Conrad said, ignoring Vi's remarks. "A knife was found on the scene, but no blood and no wounds on the body. Very odd."

"I'll say," Vi scoffed.

"Shush, Vi," Caitlyn said. "I think he may be onto something here."

"Why, thank you, Sheriff, for having some faith in me," Conrad said. "But anyways, where were we? Ah, yes, the curious case of old Dr. Mercedes. Died that Saturday. Cardiac arrest again. But, as you can see..." Conrad drew his finger in a line across the deceased man's chest, and as Jinx zoomed in, she saw a pair of jagged red lines zig-zagging along the doctor's torso. "He was wounded, but this was _not_ what killed him. And finally, we have Ilia of Clan Scorato. Same cause of death as all the others, but his room was covered in black feathers. As far as we could tell, they belong to some sort of crow."

"The same cause of death, and yet all the methods are wildly different," Caitlyn said in a curious manner.

"Precisely!" Conrad said excitedly, giddy as a schoolboy that the head honcho agreed with him. "Nobody else believed me, but I'd bet my house that every single one of these cases is linked! A trickster is loose in Piltover, frightening people to death!"

"I'd be careful makin' bets like that if I were you," Vi warned. "We all know what happened last time…"

"Oh, don't remind me," Conrad squeaked, shaking his head vigorously. "The ink on our marriage certificate wasn't even dry! But this time, I'm absolutely convinced! This is the work of a deranged madman, possibly an escaped inmate from the asylum, or simply a lunatic we haven't encountered yet..."

"Hold it," Vi said, putting up a hand to cease Conrad's babbling. "You don't think… this couldn't be _her_ , could it? I mean, sure, we'd be expectin' some kind of grand entrance if it was, but she's the only one I can think of would pull somethin' like this." Jinx could feel her ears burning. She had not been forgotten. That was good, because it would have been such a shame for Piltover to have moved on and left her in its chequered past. As she watched and listened to this trio going back and forth, an idea formed in Jinx's head, a brilliant one that was so much cleverer than anything else she had ever come up with. It was so good, she was surprised it was even her own idea. It was simple, yet brilliant: she was going to solve this crime before the police could.

Everything about it was amazing. Not only was she doing what the Star Guardians were meant to do by helping keep people safe, but it would also _really_ annoy Caitlyn and Vi. Jinx knew those two would still be smarting from their inability to ever pin her down, and they would be doubly desperate to get to the bottom of a new wave of crimes. It'd be a piece of cake to get the other Star Guardians on board (not that she needed their help, of course), and once they'd solved the case and apprehended the responsible party, the city would have to give them a big victory parade and freedom of the city and all that other good stuff. It had worked for Jayce, after all.

"Alright, little fellas, that's enough slacking off for one morning," Jinx said, telepathically dragging Shiro away from the police force. "Ready for takeoff!" Jinx spread her arms, allowing Shiro and Kuro to circle around her, and jumped, having discovered a few days ago that Star Guardians were capable of flight, just like that one kid who'd never grown up. Jinx didn't want to grow up either. She didn't want to end up turning into Janna, that was for sure. The purple-haired leader of the group was so stuffy and boring. That was one thing Jinx would _never_ become.

Mid-flight, Jinx realised two things. One, she'd left a perfectly good soda and sweets behind on that rooftop and she was going to have to retrieve those. Two, and perhaps more pertinent, was that as fantastic as her new idea was, she had absolutely no idea where to start. How would she go about catching a criminal? Go to one of the poorer areas of the city? Maybe even trek back to Zaun? Or set up a trap to lure him in? This 'thinking' business was hard. After coming up with one big idea, now she had to come up with all these little ideas to build up to the bigger one…

Screw it, she had four other people to bounce ideas off. Or rather, four people who could do all the thinking for her while she stood around looking cool and making things explode. That sounded more like it. That was the plan right there. Solve the crime, get the others to do all the hard work and take all the credit at the end. Perfect.

* * *

 **A.N.: Well, it's been a trial and a half actually getting this one up. I literally had an entire chapter written up, with this part serving as just a lead-in (it was half the length at the time), but then I had the idea of splitting them up properly and expanding this part to serve as the opening to an arc. But I kept procrastinating until it reached the point my hard drive locked up and I literally lost everything.**

 **During that period, I joined the League of Legends Confessions team over on Tumblr, and that was where a lot of my League-related energy went. Recently we hit 5000 followers, and in celebration of that, I decided there was no better time to start this back up. No guarantees on a time-frame for the rest of the arc, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to more. I've got some plans for the next three chapters, just need to figure out which order to do them in and then actually get round to it.**


End file.
